Maury Hills Church

This week's At the Movies takes on Wicked, the story of Glinda and Elphaba and how a friendship gets tested when one of them decides truth matters more than popularity. It's the same choice believers in Thessalonica faced in Acts 17, and the same one we face today: do we accept what we're told, or do we test it for ourselves like the Bereans did? We're unpacking Paul's charge in 1 Thessalonians 5:20-22 to "test everything, hold fas...

It's Family Worship Sunday at Maury Hills as Russ is joined by special guest Luke Chapman, a third grader from Maury Hills, for a unique message in our At the Movies series. Using The Lion King as a backdrop, they explore the difference between fear and identity, discovering that our greatest confidence comes from remembering who we are in Christ. Through scenes from the movie and passages from Scripture, this message reminds us no...

For generations, Christians have debated the rapture, the tribulation, and the millennial kingdom. But what does the book of Revelation actually say? In the final message of our Revelation series, we'll separate popular ideas from biblical teaching, explore the three major views of Revelation 20, and discover why this book wasn't written to fill us with fear about the future, but with hope and faithfulness in the present.

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Revelation 4–19 contains some of the most mysterious and debated imagery in all of Scripture, but its central message is clearer than many people realize. In this message, we explore the four major approaches Christians have used to interpret Revelation—the Futurist, Preterist, Historicist, and Idealist views—and discover that faithful believers have disagreed on these chapters for centuries. Rather than focusing ...

Revelation is often considered the Bible’s most confusing, debated, and misunderstood book. In this opening message of our series, It’s Revelation, Not Revelations, we step back from charts, timelines, and end-times speculation to explore the book’s original purpose and historical context. Who wrote Revelation? Who was it written to? What was happening in the Roman Empire that prompted John to write this message o...

In this message from Romans 14, Russ explores one of the most important principles for maintaining unity in a diverse church: “In matters of faith, unity; in matters of opinion, liberty; in all things, love.” Paul addresses disagreements among early Christians over issues like food and special days, reminding believers not to judge or despise one another over disputable matters. Drawing connections to modern debates wit...

In her sermon From Groanings to Glory, Lydia Brooks draws from Romans 8:18-28 to challenge the tendency many believers have to skip straight to the comfort of verse 28 without sitting in the weight of the verses that precede it. Using a mirror-versus-microscope approach to Scripture, she walks through three movements in the passage: first, that we are bound to our human nature and our pride will be challenged by the call to obedien...

This week we wrapped up our “Big Picture” series by turning to the final two chapters of the Bible — Revelation 21–22. From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture tells one unified story: creation, fall, rescue, redemption, and restoration. Pastor Russ explores how the Bible ends where it began — with God dwelling among His people in a renewed creation. Along the way, we look at the connection between Eden a...

In week five of "The Big Picture", Ebony traces the birth of the church through Acts 2. The early church was marked by devotion to scripture, shared meals, communal prayer, and generosity, a model the pastor admits she deeply longs for while also acknowledging the tension modern believers feel between that first-century ideal and today's consumer-driven church culture. Drawing on the example of her own painful experience with churc...

This message continues our series The Big Picture by focusing on Act Four—The Chosen One (Jesus)—where everything in Scripture finds its fulfillment. After tracing the story from the Garden to the Fall to the Chosen People of Israel, we see how the promise was never about elevating one nation but about pointing to one person—Jesus. Looking at the opening of the Gospels and key moments in Luke, we explore how Jesus...

In Week 3 of The Big Picture, we step into “The Chosen People” and trace the unfolding story of God’s rescue mission through Abraham and the nation of Israel. Beginning in Genesis 12, we see God make a promise to bless all nations through one family, but what follows is a story filled with faith and failure, hope and dysfunction. From Abraham to Moses to the giving of the Law, God reveals His heart and calls His p...

The Big Picture: Understanding God’s Story Week Two

This week, we explore the Fall in Genesis 3 and why it’s one of the most important chapters in the entire Bible. What began as a perfect world filled with goodness, peace, and relationship is disrupted by deception, sin, and rebellion. This is where the story shifts—from a “report” to a real story—because conflict enters the picture. In this mes...

In Week 2 of our series The Big Picture, we explore the Fall in Genesis 3 and why it’s one of the most important chapters in the entire Bible. What began as a perfect world filled with goodness, peace, and relationship is disrupted by deception, sin, and rebellion. This is where the story shifts—from a “report” to a real story—because conflict enters the picture. In this message, we unpack how the Fall...

Cultural Crossroads: Four Trends Shaping our World : Week Four

On Easter Sunday, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus—but what does that mean for our lives right now? In a culture marked by loneliness, division, and isolation, this message explores one of the most pressing needs of our time: community. Drawing from Luke 24 and Acts 2, we see that Jesus didn’t just rise to give us hope for the future—He rose ...

Cultural Crossroads: Four Trends Shaping our World : Week Three

Palm Sunday wasn’t just a spiritual moment—it was deeply political. In this message, we explore how the crowd misunderstood Jesus by attaching Him to their own political hopes, expecting a conquering king instead of a suffering Savior. But Jesus makes it clear: His kingdom is not of this world. So what does that mean for us today in such a divided c...

Cultural Crossroads: Four Trends Shaping our World - Week 2

In a culture quick to label opponents as enemies, Jesus offers a better way. In this message from Matthew 5:43–48, we explore how the demonization of others fuels division—and how Christ calls us to something higher: love, prayer, and maturity in how we treat those we disagree with. Through biblical teaching and a real-life local story, this sermon challenges us...